A/N: I wrote this in literally one day, it just poured out of me! So, it might be a bit rough and ready and I apologise for any grammatical errors. I don't have a beta, so any mistakes are mine.
Apologies to anyone who's got me on alert and was expecting a Twi fic! (Kels lol). I haven't abandoned any of the Twi stories I'm working on, but the muse goes where the muse goes! Don't desert me, I will post Twi fics again, I promise!
!MAJOR SPOILERS ALL THE WAY UP TO S7 OF TWD!
This story assumes there's much more of a gap between Richard giving Daryl the crossbow and actually taking him out to execute his dumbass plan which could result in killing Carol. Several days at least. At this point, Daryl doesn't know Carol is alive and living right outside The Kingdom.
I don't own TWD, I'm just playing with the characters for my own amusement! Warnings also for naughty language and lemons. If you don't like it, don't read it! And if you're underage, please go and read some classic lit instead of this drivel! You won't learn anything helpful from me lol!
Daryl's Turn
Daryl creeped stealthily through the woods not far from The Kingdom in a foul mood. How could Rick leave him behind again? Their family was only just reunited after… he shook away the thought of what had happened with Glenn and Abraham at that fucking psycho's hands. He couldn't dwell on that while he was out alone in the woods. He needed to stay alert, not wallow in the depth of his guilt and misery of that fucked up situation.
He knew why Rick had left him behind. It was probably the safest place to leave him. He didn't for a minute believe that he was capable of changing King Ezekial's mind about joining them in a fight against Negan. He didn't have the words or the sway that Rick, Maggie or even that prick Jesus may have had with the self-appointed monarch. He knew that Rick couldn't possibly believe he had any chance of changing anyone's mind either, unless he used his fists. And he doubted Rick meant for him to do that. Probably end up eaten by that damn tiger for his troubles. No, Rick had left him behind to keep him safe, pure and simple. And while that was just something Rick would do to protect any of his family, he couldn't help but feel hurt and abandoned. Cut off from his family again. Alone, again.
Daryl huffed in annoyance. And he was surrounded by pansy ass pricks in crap armour and a whole town, no Kingdom he amended with a sneer, of people who'd probably faint at the sight of a walker, let alone be able to kill one. Just this morning he was watching the town's archery training. One or two could hit a target, he'd give them that, but the damn thing wasn't moving was it? It wasn't like walkers were gonna stand still so they could get in a shot! They were too soft, too inexperienced, and they were all gonna die, probably sooner than later. It was pretty amazing they'd lasted this long, even all cozy as they were behind them walls. That Richard guy seemed to be the only one in the place that even realised the danger everyone was in. Daryl shifted the crossbow Richard had given him on his shoulder, the weight new and yet completely familiar, like a missing limb had been returned to him.
The crossbow was well looked after, the bolts for it well made and he was grateful for it. He was good with a knife and a gun, but to properly hunt, he needed a bow. This is what he was doing out in the woods. Taking the new crossbow for a test run and seeing if he could bring in some meat while he was at it. It didn't sit right on him, eating food that others had grown or killed without offering something back. The Kingdom may be full of pansies, but they obviously worked as hard as anyone these days for their food.
He walked on, probably a mile and a half out from The Kingdom's walls now, searching for tracks. A few squirrels or rabbits would do, but he was hoping to bag a deer. It had been a while since he'd had any venison. He snorted quietly to himself, he'd lived the last few weeks off dog food sandwiches, deer shit would probably taste better right now.
A half hour later he had a string of squirrels draped over his shoulder and had just spotted some old deer tracks when the wind shifted and he got a face full of walker stench. He paused, standing stock still as he listened to figure out where the walker or walkers were and if they were close enough that he'd have to deal with them. He began to hear faint groans and snapping twigs, and relaxed minutely. It was about 7 or 8 walkers he'd guess, but far enough from him that he could avoid them easily. He began to turn when he heard a sound that made him freeze again momentarily in fear before he took off toward the sound, running as quietly as only he could through the dry undergrowth. The noise was short, and quickly cut off, but it was the beginning of a feminine scream. It was barely a squeak, but Daryl was sure of what he'd heard.
He ran for a couple of minutes, pausing only to sling his squirrels over a high branch and swing his crossbow forward, ready to shoot, when he saw her. She was tall for a woman, probably the same height as him, her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back in a braid and she was wearing form fitted dark colour trousers and a t-shirt with a dark brown leather vest over it. And as she stood, poised tall and proud with a bow and arrow, Daryl paused. Whilst she reminded him in a flash of the time before of a video game heroine, Lara something, he also recognised the stance of an experienced archer. He took a moment to assess the situation. He spotted eight walkers coming at her, seven from the front, one off to the side a little further back and as he watched, she pulled bolt after bolt from the quiver slung across her back and rapidly took out the first five walkers within moments of each other, almost faster than he could see. By then the next two walkers were just about on her and Daryl brought his crossbow up to help her out, but she kicked the first walker away with her shit kicker boots, brought a knife out of a sheath on her waist and stabbed the second walker through the eye with a slight grunt of effort, before spinning back to the first and jabbing her knife up under its chin, taking it out. By this time, the final walker was at her back and before she could spin and deal with it, Daryl fired his bolt through its temple and it dropped where it stood with a slight squelch.
The woman spun around and glared at Daryl furiously. "I had it!" she spat. She huffed, dismissing him with a hand gesture when he didn't answer and turned to gather her bolts from the dead walkers surrounding her.
Daryl walked over and pulled the two nearest him and held them out to her. "You're welcome!" he snapped gruffly.
She snatched the bolts from him, wiping the gore off them on the nearest walker's clothes. "Why would I thank you for interrupting my practice?" she said sharply. "I can handle myself".
Daryl raised a brow at her accent, her voice distinctively English if he wasn't very much mistaken, but ignored his curiosity in favour of answering her. "Practice?" he asked shortly "D'ya think 's a jolly jaunt comin' way out here alone to play Robin Hood? I saw ya, this morning. Did practicing on those targets in The Kingdom bore ya?" he asked, impersonating her accent irritably. What kind of stupid idiot would come out alone into the woods to practice?
"Fuck you!" she snapped, fire in her eyes as she got in his face. "It's a new bow. How's my old one treating you?" she asked as she tapped the crossbow.
Daryl frowned "This was yours?" he asked and when she nodded he continued "Why the fuck did Richard give it to me then?"
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't need it anymore. I only used it til I had time to make a new bow for myself. I can reload much faster with this bow than I can with a cross".
Daryl nodded. "Well thanks" he said "Ya took good care of it, an' I been missin' mine since it got took".
The woman relaxed her stance a bit "Yeah well, we've got to look after what keeps us alive, right? The crossbow was great at a distance or for one or two walkers, but in close quarters? I had to resort to using my knife too often. I can do it, but I'm better with my bow".
"I saw" Daryl nodded "Ain't never seen anyone shoot arrows 's fast"
A small smile played around the woman's full lips "Well thanks" she nodded and Daryl shrugged, embarrassed.
"Ya do this a lot?" Daryl asked, indicating the walkers. Maybe some of The Kingdom's residents weren't such pansy asses after all if they came out to clear walkers as well as hitting those stupid targets.
She shrugged "Can't get soft now" she said. "Those people in The Kingdom…" she sighed as she trailed off.
"Ya new here?" Daryl asked, surprised.
"Do I sound like a resident of Virginia?" she smirked.
Daryl huffed a little, amused "Not 'xactly" he replied, somewhat pleased that this woman thought the same as him about people in The Kingdom. He was distracted from his next question by a faint tutting noise, coming from above him in a tree and he glanced up sharply. It was probably meant to sound like a squirrel, but as a lifelong hunter, he knew the difference between a squirrel and a human noise.
The woman made a double tutting noise and Daryl's jaw dropped in shock as two little girls with tawny blond hair dropped out of the tree next to them, landing on their feet with barely more noise than a rabbit jump. He swung round on the woman instantly furious. "Ya brought kids out here?" he stormed, trying to keep his voice down, but the anger at her recklessness with the girl's safety was white hot. "D'is a damn family outin'?!"
The older of the two girls, who could be no more than 8 or 9 years old, quick as lightening pulled a knife and stood in front of the woman, while the younger girl who was maybe 6 years old covered her ears and flinched.
"You don't shout at my Mum" the older girl snarled at Daryl.
"Ness!" exclaimed the woman "It's alright. This man is only trying to help". She placed a hand on her girls' shoulders and pulled them against her comfortingly. She stroked the younger one's hair "It's okay Bethie, he's not going to shout anymore" she assured her whilst glaring at Daryl in warning.
Daryl shook off his surprise at being threatened by a little girl, tried to ignore the pang of hearing the name Beth again, and opened his mouth to say his piece before the woman interrupted him.
"He doesn't know what you two can do, baby" she said. She made two quick clicks with her tongue and before Daryl could blink, Ness had crouched over, Beth used her back as a spring board to jump up and grab a branch. She pulled herself up, flipped herself over, leaned down and grabbed Ness' hands as she jumped up, then with a strength and agility that staggered Daryl, the girls together managed to swing Ness up onto the branch. Within seconds, both girls had climbed higher into the tree and became so quiet and still that Daryl could no longer see them among the leaves.
"What the…?" he exclaimed. Last time he'd seen anyone move like that it was Olympic gymnasts on the TV, not two little pint sized girls in the woods.
The woman tutted twice and with the barest rustle, the girls dropped out of the tree again, landing safely on their feet.
"Come on girls" said the woman. "It's time to get back for dinner".
Bethie looked up at her Mum and rubbed her tummy, earning her a smile "Yes I know you're hungry baby. It won't take us long to get back".
Daryl fell into step behind the trio and the woman looked back. "We don't need an escort, thank you" she said sharply.
Daryl shrugged "Time f' my dinner too" he said, pacing off a few steps and grabbing the squirrels he'd hung in the tree earlier. Despite how capable the woman and her daughters appeared to be, it wasn't in him to leave them alone in the woods.
After moving at an angry pace for a couple of minutes, although the three females still moved more quietly than he'd ever been able to teach Rick, the woman sighed and paused to let Daryl catch up to her before walking along with him, the girls slightly ahead, clearly knowing the way without being told.
"I'm Gina by the way" she said, her anger obviously lessened.
"Daryl"
Gina nodded and sighed. "When this all went down, we were on holiday in Florida, staying with a friend. She had this house with a big wall all around the property and an orange grove out the back. Flights home stopped almost as soon as they started reporting the dead rising on the news, and you know how fast everything fell apart then. It was obvious we weren't going to get home to England and that we were better off hunkering down behind those walls rather than attempting to go into the city or to a refugee camp. We were safer where we were. The girls were already doing gymnastics classes at home and when we saw how quickly they could climb those orange trees, we had them practice that move over and over until they did it without hesitation when we gave them the signal".
Daryl nodded "'S smart" he said gruffly.
"I bring them out to practice so they don't lose that skill. It's saved them untold times and frees me up to fight knowing they're out of reach. They can't get soft, even if we're behind walls right now. We know those walls can come down at any time".
"That what happened in Florida?" Daryl asked.
Gina nodded "It was a hurricane. It knocked down a couple of trees in our grove which took out the wall in a couple of places and before we knew it, walkers were swarming in and we had to leave in a hurry. We had been taking people in, friends and neighbours. We had been working together to live, to carry on. We lost twelve that night" she sighed, looking away for a moment to gather her emotions.
"How many o' ya came to The Kingdom?"
"Just me and my girls. We lost… their Dad, and everyone else on the way. We've been alone for a long time now, since Charleston".
"Ya came all that way by yourselves?" Daryl exclaimed. Even with a group of seasoned fighters they'd struggled to cover the same distance that Gina and her girls had apparently done alone. "Why did ya keep movin'?"
Gina shrugged "I was hoping that somewhere up the coast we'd find passage home. Some group or another that was maybe running boats over the ocean. But people now... it's hard to trust. We sometimes stop for a bit, but move on before it goes sour. And we kept getting pushed inland to avoid some groups too".
"'m sorry, 'bout your husband" Daryl said gruffly.
Gina sighed "He was a good man" she nodded. "He grew up camping with his family. His Dad was the type to try and live off the land while they camped, so he knew some basic stuff to keep us going". She shook herself "So what about you? You're new here too right? Are you alone?"
"No. I got family. Not blood family y'know, but family jus' the same. 'S safer for me to be here right now, but I don't know how long I'm stayin'. Wan' ta be back with my people".
They walked in silence for a while. Daryl felt like he'd talked more to Gina than anyone else in a long time. Must be all that time in solitary confinement with only that damn song for company.
A little further on, a couple of walkers came a bit too close for comfort and Daryl got to see the girls' gymnastic feat up into a tree again as Gina immediately clicked twice on hearing the walkers as she simultaneously readied her bow. Daryl was impressed with her ease with the bow as they took out a walker each in tandem. Once she was sure there was no more danger, she tutted twice and the girls dropped out of the tree and kept walking.
Daryl watched the girls for a while. They seemed alert for sounds around them, in fact he thought little Bethie may have actually heard those walkers before he did. She would probably be alerting them first once she was a bit older. Ness kept a hand hovering near her knife sheath and stuck close to Bethie's side as she kept a sharp eye on the woods surrounding her. He felt sad for them. It was one thing to have a shitty upbringing because your Pa was a no-good redneck and abusive drunk, but at least the whole world hadn't gone to shit. He still was able to go to school on occasion. Watched Saturday morning cartoons while his Pa slept off the night before. Might occasionally have had a few cents to buy some candy. Hell, at the least he could play in the woods without worrying he'd get eaten. Did these girls ever get a chance to just be kids? Gina was smart in training them up early, but it was sad all the same.
As they walked through the gates back into The Kingdom, the girls both turned to look at their mother. Gina's eyes darted about them, obviously checking the area was still secure and she gave the girls a nod. All at once their little bodies seemed to relax and come alive as Ness let out a few giggles of obvious relief. Bethie took a deep breath and began to pace a little on the spot, her hands flapping by her ears. Daryl looked askance at the little one as she began muttering to herself. He was at once reminded of little Lizzie at the prison and felt a chill slip down his spine.
"Did we do okay today Mummy?" asked Ness with a big full dimpled smile.
"You did baby" grinned Gina and gave both her girls big hugs. "You both did so well. I'm so proud of you both!" The girls' smile's widened. Bethie tugged her mother's hand and Gina leaned down so she could whisper in Gina's ear. Gina chuckled "Yes baby, it's time to eat. Go wash and then save me a seat in the dining hall. I'll be there in a minute!"
Ness smiled up at Daryl, her demeanour from the focused little girl threatening him in the woods as different as night and day. "Are you gonna eat with us Daryl?" she asked sweetly. Daryl was taken aback, not expecting Ness to have warmed up to him after he'd shouted at her Mom.
"Uh, sure Ness" he replied, gruffly.
"Yay!" exclaimed the girls and they ran off presumably to wash up and head to the dining hall, leaving Daryl to stare after them, bemused by their enthusiasm.
Gina smiled at him "I guess they decided you were okay after all" she laughed.
Daryl shrugged "Don' know why" he mumbled.
Gina smirked "Maybe they see a good man under all that gruffness".
Daryl shrugged again, embarrassed. He didn't know why anyone would want to spend any more time than they had to with his rough and ready attitude and manners. No-one in the before world had wanted to, that's for damn sure. He watched as the girls ran off, Bethie running with an odd little skip and hop now and then, her hands occasionally flapping beside her. He tilted his head in thought as he watched her. She seemed like a sweet kid, but that muttering to herself had him worried. After Lizzie had killed her little sister Mika, any reminder of her in another kid was worrying, even if Bethie was a good five or six years younger than Lizzie had been.
"She's autistic Daryl" said Gina sharply, drawing his attention. "She's not insane. She's not a danger to anyone. She just sees and feels the world a little differently than we do. Her hearing is too sensitive. She doesn't like crowds. She doesn't like to be touched by most people, Ness and I not included. She's sensitive to what material she wears. She only talks to me or Ness. She didn't speak til about a year ago at all, and now it's a bit disordered. Some people were nasty to her about the way she spoke, so now she refuses to speak aloud at all. She sometimes tics with flapping hands, talking to herself, some squeaks and other body movements, but she's got really good at suppressing them when we aren't in a safe place". Gina stepped into Daryl's space and pointed a finger at his chest. "If you've got a problem with any of that then you can just stay out of our way".
Daryl looked at Gina guiltily "'m sorry" he mumbled. "The little 'un seems like a sweet kid".
"Bethie and Ness are my world".
Daryl nodded "They should be".
Gina sighed a little, easing back out of Daryl's space. "I'm sorry if I went off on one. Some people have issues with her behaviour, even here. People are small minded and I'm sensitive to it. There are a lot of crazy people out there now. It seems like it's mostly the crazy ones that made it this far, and I don't like my baby being lumped in with them".
"Y' a good Mom" Daryl said, unsure if he should be forgiven for being one of those small-minded people, even if only for a minute. Maybe he should stay away from them. It's not like hanging with him would improve their lives any. Gina seemed like good people. She was strong and smart. And it wasn't like he hadn't noticed how good looking she was to boot. Not that her looks had anything to do with how trustworthy she was, he'd just noticed that's all. Like he'd notice how good someone's weapon was. It didn't mean anything more, he justified to himself.
"I try" Gina smiled. She tapped his arm "Come on, let's go eat, they're waiting".
Daryl nodded and trailed behind her, dropping the string of squirrels in a bucket to clean later. He watched Gina walk ahead of him, catching himself from staring at her curvy ass. What the hell? Sure, she was pretty. Beautiful even. And a God damn amazon with that height, and those long legs. But Daryl didn't normally find himself attracted to pretty. He could bypass a million pretty faces in fact, so much so that people tended to assume he was either gay or asexual. He wasn't, he just didn't put too much stock in someone's shell and who the hell had the time or inclination to try and date people now? Not many women in his life had ever demonstrated the strength that he found made someone truly attractive. In fact, there were none before the turn that he could think of, although he'd found some fictional characters appealing, like that Lara something off that video game about Tombs or whatever. He'd only played it once round a friend's house before his friend's Mama came home and told him not to have that white trash in her house again. Most of the girls willing to be with a redneck like him were either drunks or strung out. Not exactly the strong hero type gal.
Now here was Gina, a Lara something in the flesh. Strong, determined and capable on top of a smoking hot body and killer bow skills, and Daryl knew he could be in trouble. He was in The Kingdom to hide from Negan's men. His family were in danger every moment of the day. They were planning to go to war. 90% of the population wanted to eat them, 5% more wanted to take what they had, with force. He had lost so many people he'd cared about already, he didn't want to care about anyone new. It would only end up hurting and it was hardly the time to go mooning over a hot ass for the first time. Daryl jerked his eyes upward again away from said ass. Damn it! Pull y'self together Dixon, he told himself.
As they sat down to a meal, Ness held most of the conversation between them, asking Daryl about his tracking and hunting and did he think he was better with the crossbow than Mummy, or was Mummy better. In fact, the cute little button didn't stop talking and damned if Daryl, usually monosyllabic at best couldn't help but respond to her, much to the bemusement of himself and by the looks of it, Gina too. Even little Bethie grinned as she followed the conversation with rapt attention. Normally this much socialising would exhaust him, but he found himself enjoying the meal and by the end of it, he knew those little girls had him utterly wrapped around their little fingers. So much so that when Ness asked Daryl to come see her and Bethie's room, coz they got real beds and everything here, he found himself agreeing.
Sometime later he found himself sitting on the bench outside of Gina and the girl's room waiting for Gina to put the girls to bed, still somewhat bemused by the whole situation. He heard then felt Gina come out and sit beside him. She chuckled.
"Did she wear you out?" she asked.
Daryl huffed a laugh "Nah. 'm good" he replied.
"That's good, because she thinks she's got a new best friend" Gina smirked.
Daryl smiled but shook his head "That's dangerous, y'know? The way she trusts people".
Gina shook her head "She doesn't normally, I swear! In fact, she's normally harder to get to know than most adults these days, she's defensive. I don't know why she's taken to you like she has, but it's sweet to see".
Daryl shrugged "She's a cute kid an' so is the little 'un, but I won't be here more than a coupla weeks. I don't want to upset her when I go".
Gina sighed "I don't want her upset either, but these days? In this world? If she gets a friend for a couple of weeks, someone who makes her talk and smile that way? Then I'm going to let her have it. We don't know when we'll get that again, so if it's okay with you, I'm not going to hold her back".
Daryl shook his head, amused "Made friends with a nine-year-old today. 's a good day".
Gina chuckled "Bethie adores you too, she's just not as obvious about it". Gina paused "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot" Daryl nodded.
"Why do you flinch every time I say Bethie's name? And you haven't used it once. I'm trying to not get the wrong impression here, but I thought you liked her?"
Daryl frowned "'m sorry" he mumbled. "'s just. I lost someone with her name. Someone important".
"Shit, I'm sorry Daryl. A girlfriend?"
"No. Wasn't like that. She was like ma lil' sister. We got separated from our family an' then I lost her. To bad people" he shrugged "'t hurts is all, to hear her name. But 'm gonna try, because little 'un, I mean Bethie, she's a hell o' a sweet kid".
"She is" agreed Gina, putting her hand over Daryl's which rested on his knee, and squeezing it. "But I don't mind if you call her little 'un if you want? It can be your own name for her. I know she won't mind".
Daryl turned his hand over to grasp Gina's and flashed her a small smile through his messy bangs. "Thanks" he said gruffly, before looking away again, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Gina smiled at him. "Are you really going to show us how you track and hunt tomorrow? I mean I know Ness put you on the spot, but I wouldn't want us to get in your way?"
Daryl shrugged "Nah, 's good. I wouldn't want to break promises to my friend already would I? An' anyway, you guys are light on your feet already. That's the hard part to teach. I keep try'na teach my brother Rick how t' track and damned if he doesn't just keep stomping like a herd a' elephants!"
Gina giggled.
"Anyway, you gotta be a hunter, as good as you are with that bow?" he asked.
"I hunt" Gina shrugged, "But I'm not great at tracking. I wouldn't mind a few pointers".
Daryl nodded "I can do that" he said.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the other residents of The Kingdom wind down for the evening. In these days with little or no electric lights, people tended to go to bed and rise with the sun to save on candles and fuel.
"How did you get s' good with the bow anyway?" Daryl asked. "Unless you're robbin' the rich to feed tha poor, I didn' think you'd have much need fer it in England".
Gina smiled "I tried it a few times over the years, in school and later whenever the opportunity came up and I enjoyed it. I was pretty good and considered taking it up as a hobby but never got around to it. When it all went to hell and I had plenty of trees and time holed up in that house in Florida, I made a bow and some arrows, figuring it out as I went how to make it better and practiced – a lot". She shrugged "I already knew how to shoot a rifle, I used to go to a range with my Dad, but I knew bullets weren't something that would be easy to find".
"Ya did a good job on this one too. What happened to your first one?" he asked.
Gina shrugged "Broke it when a couple of walkers got too close, I ran out of bolts, lost my knife and still had one to take down hand to hand. I needed something sharp!"
Daryl smirked "Tha' musta been hard to do, givin' up your bow like that".
Gina grinned at her fellow archer, "Most definitely! What about you? What happened to your last crossbow?"
Daryl frowned and looked away.
"Hey, it's okay" said Gina "You don't have to say. I was just making conversation". Gina squeezed his hand she was somehow still holding and Daryl's gaze jerked to their linked fingers as if wondering how that had happened, then sighed.
"Somebody I tried to help took it from me. Took it and killed one of my friends with it".
"Shit Daryl, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up painful things".
Daryl snorted and shot her a brief smile "You can't throw a stick without hittin' somethin' painful these days".
Gina smiled, caught his gaze and said "I guess not". Gina leant forward a placed a brief kiss on Daryl's lips, shocking the hell out of him.
"Wha's tha' for?" he mumbled, his cheeks flushing.
Gina shrugged and smirked "For being a sweet, funny man. For making me talk and smile and for taking happy moments when the opportunity comes because fuck knows there's not many of them these days".
Daryl stared at Gina hard, his mind whirling. He knew, knew to his bones that he wasn't good enough for her, that in the time before she wouldn't have looked twice at him, but if she said he was making her happy, even if it was only in this moment, then who was he to argue? He knew he'd enjoyed being with her today more than anything he could remember in a very long time, if ever. Maybe he could… his thoughts cut off as her soft lips met his again, this time more firmly, and the hand that wasn't still holding his rose to slide around his neck and bury itself in his messy hair. After a moment of surprise, Daryl's lips softened against hers and he began to kiss her back as his hand came up to cup her cheek gently. She tasted sweet, like the apple she'd had at dinner, but maybe that was just her own flavour. Daryl touched her lips with the tip of his tongue, wanting to taste her deeper, and with a sigh, she opened to let him in. Daryl moaned softly at her taste and the feel of her tongue rubbing against his deliciously.
"Get a room!" called an amused male voice as he walked by, jerking Daryl from his daze and he looked around wildly. It was so unlike him to be unaware of his surroundings like that, and for a kiss?
"Daryl?" Gina said softly, still caressing the back of his neck. "Want to get a room with me?"
Daryl stared at Gina, his mind and body battling for dominance. The woman both got to him mentally and turned him on more than anyone ever had, but he still felt like the rug would get pulled out from under his feet at any moment once she realised who she was talking to.
"Daryl?" Gina asked again gently "We don't have to. I mean, I don't normally do this, but I… I like you and I just want to feel happy for a while longer, you know?" She blushed as Daryl remained frozen and began to pull away. "God, I'm sorry. I'm coming on too strong. You probably don't even like me that way…"
"No!" exclaimed Daryl. "'m sorry. I do like ya. I want to. I just… I don't normally do this. 'm not... 've only been with a coupla women".
Gina looked back at him, her cheeks still hot "My husband was my only one" she whispered.
"Are ya sure?" Daryl persisted, still not able to believe this amazing woman would want to be with him.
Gina nodded, then gasped as Daryl's mouth took hers again in a brief, yet fiery kiss.
"Where?" he asked.
Gina stood and held out her hand for him. He took it and let her lead him into her bedroom where she shut the door and flicked the bolt to lock it.
"B'fore we, y'know" whispered Daryl. "I hav'ta tell ya". He swallowed hard, the gulp audible in the quiet room. "I'm scarred, bad. My Daddy, well… but if ya are put off by it, jus' say okay? Would rather walk out before, than after an' y'all are disgusted".
Gina took a step forward and put her hands on Daryl's waist. "I'm sorry for that Daryl. That shouldn't have happened to you. But, you should know that I'm scarred too. It wasn't my Dad, but well, maybe I should show you?" she whispered. She took a small step back and slid her leather vest off before quickly pulling her t-shirt over her head. Her cheeks flushed brightly as Daryl gazed in wonder at her creamy skin and her breasts encased in her plain and slightly worn black bra. He wanted nothing more than to run his tongue along the edges of that bra to see if she tasted as creamy as she looked. She took his hand lightly and turned slightly so he could see her back. Along the length of one whole side of her back, her skin was pocked, marked and rough and she brought his hand to feel the roughness of the patch of skin. "Road rash" she whispered. "I came off my motorbike when I was 19, skidded along the tarmac". Daryl bent to kiss the scarred skin softly.
Gina undid her trousers and pushed them down to show the back of her thighs. She took his hand down to touch what was obviously a bite, the oval scar slightly concave on her thigh. "Dog bite" she whispered "Random dog went berserk in the park, I was protecting Ness who was a baby and couldn't defend myself". Daryl knelt behind her and placed a kiss on the bite scar. "Take my trousers off?" she asked. Daryl complied, unlacing and slipping off her boots and socks first, before sliding her jeans off. She turned to face him in only her underwear and indicated the shin on her left leg, the scars there looked surgical. "Bad break when I came off my bike. They had to put a pin in it to fix it". Daryl ran a hand gently down the scar before leaning down to place a kiss on that one. Gina smiled and took his hand, leading it to her lower stomach, just above her panties. "C-section scar from Ness who was breech and not budging. I'm kind of proud of that one" she said with a shrug. Daryl smiled up at her and leaned forward to gently kiss along that scar, the position of it so close to heaven, he didn't want to leave, but Gina urged him to his feet.
"Do my scars disgust you Daryl?" she asked gently. "How they happened doesn't compare, I know, but I didn't ask to be marked. None were my fault. Does it affect how much you want me?"
"No!" exclaimed Daryl gruffly and pulled Gina in for a deep kiss. What a brave woman to highlight her own flaws like that to make baring his own easier. He was still nervous to show his. The shame he felt every time someone else saw the scars made it almost unbearable to let anyone see them. But her courageous way of showing him hers made him want to be as brave for her. That, and her almost naked body was affecting his own quite badly now. His rock-hard erection pressing painfully against his trousers and he really wanted to release the pressure. He pulled away from the kiss, enjoying the way she whimpered a little in disappointment and stepped back to unfasten his shirt. She took his breath away as she kissed each new inch of skin as he bared it, down to his stomach, where she kissed the trail of hair under his belly button down to the button of his trousers.
Impatiently, she grasped the button and pulled it and his zip open and sliding her hands around the back of his trousers, she squeezed his cheeks and she pressed her mouth back to his, making him gasp into her kiss. He pulled away from her kiss again to give her a warning squint at which she grinned impishly. He shook his head with a smirk and quickly shed his boots, sock and trousers virtually in one go. Gina went to push his shirt off his shoulders and without thinking, Daryl grabbed her hands before she could remove his shirt. His grip shaking slightly.
"We can leave it on if you want?" she asked softly, of course immediately understanding.
Daryl swallowed hard and with a clenched jaw, motioned for her to continue. Gina slipped the shirt off, letting it fall to the floor and licked her lips at the sight in front of her. Daryl spent so much time working with and carrying that crossbow that his shoulder and arms were broad and strong. His chest was well defined with a smattering of hair. Gina breathed heavily, her lids lowered as she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, grazing his nipples and making him gasp a quick breath. She noted only a couple of minor scars on his front and surmised that most of the damage must be to his back. She leant up to kiss him before walking around him to take a look at what he usually kept well hidden. It was awful of course, knowing what his father had done to him and seeing the evidence spread over his back, but there was also pure skin between the scars. She ran her hands from his shoulders and down his back, feeling his tense body shudder. She leaned in to kiss the worst of his scars.
"This. What has happened here. These scars are not you, Daryl. This is just a small part of you and the skin between the scars is soft and smooth". She moved back around to the front of him and pulled him in to kiss her again. He was tense at first, but the subtle tremors faded as they kissed. She pulled back briefly to look in his eyes. "You're beautiful Daryl and God, I want you" she whispered.
Daryl groaned and kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and pulling her tight against him, his rigid length still trapped behind his boxers digging into her stomach and she ground her hips against his, making him moan. Her hands left his back and fiddled behind her own, releasing her bra. She pulled it off and out from between them and pressed her bare breasts into his firm chest, the sensation making them both groan.
"Fuck Gina!" Daryl groaned as he leaned back to take her in. He growled as he bent to place open mouth kisses all over her breasts while she held his head against her. She gasped as he suckled at her nipple.
"Daryl!" she exclaimed, her legs beginning to feel unsteady.
Daryl seemed to be aware of her predicament and walked her back towards her bed, lowering her down and following her without breaking contact with his mouth.
"Taste so good" he rasped. "Wan' more". He kissed his way over her flat belly, her ribs protruding slightly as most peoples did these days. He kissed back down to her scar, worshiping it with his lips as he grasped her underwear and pulled them down her legs. He kissed down over her mound, the soft hair tickling his lips. He looked up at her as he slowly spread her legs. She was panting for breath, her cheeks flushed as she watched him. He licked his lips and looked down at her soft folds. They glistened slightly with moisture and he wanted to taste it. "I never…" he began, embarrassed. The two times he'd been with women before were skanks Merle had badgered him into fucking. He'd had no urge to do anything but finish as soon as possible then. But now, he wanted to bring Gina pleasure. He wanted her wet and writhing, desperate for him. His cock twitched at the thought.
Gina bit her lip "Just be gentle and do what you think is right. I'll tell you if I need something" she promised.
Daryl nodded and focused back on her. He licked a broad stripe up her from bottom to top, more than encouraged by her gasp and the way her body bowed on the bed. He did it again, following it up with rolling his tongue around the nub at the top. By her soft cry, he'd guess this was her clitoris. Just because he'd never done this before, didn't mean he'd never seen porn. Although he gathered that he should be more gentle than he'd seen on film. He repeated his circular pattern around her clitoris, reading her moans and gasps like he'd read the tracks in the woods and adjusting his actions to achieve the best sounds from her. He pressed his rapidly leaking cock against the bed, trying to get some friction to release some of the pressure without setting him off. He slipped his tongue inside her, moaning at her taste. She was very wet by this point and the warmth inside her pussy was so inviting, his cock wanted in. He moaned against her, rising again to tease her clit with his tongue and lips.
"Daryl please!" Gina panted.
"What d'ya need?" he asked heatedly.
"Your… your fingers too!" she gasped out, forming words clearly becoming difficult.
Daryl smiled at her before bringing his fingers up to slide first one, then two into her hot channel, humming in pleasure at the sensation as he returned his lips to her clitoris. Her hips began to rise with every thrust of his fingers, so he wrapped his spare arm around her hip and across her belly to hold her still.
"Daryl!" She eventually moaned "God! I'm gonna… ungh!" her body seized in pleasure as her pussy fluttered around his fingers. He looked up at her to see her muffling her cries against the back of her hand as her other hand gripped his hair, tugging deliciously as she came against his mouth. "Fuck!" she exclaimed in a sigh as her orgasm waned. She looked down at him, panting "Jesus, Daryl!"
Daryl huffed a laugh and crawled up over her to kiss her deeply "Don' say Jesus" he muttered.
She looked up at him in confusion, but he smirked and said "Tell ya later".
He kissed her again, then kissed down her neck to her collarbones, tasting the saltiness of her skin as she regained her breath. After a few moments she seemed to realise that his hard and leaking cock was still pressing into her hip through his boxer shorts.
"Fuck, I'm sorry Daryl!" she exclaimed and sat up, urging him over onto his back in the small bed, his cock standing to attention under his damp boxers. She pulled his boxers down and off, getting her first look at him completely naked and flushed again, "God!" she muttered and ran her hands up his strong legs, over his narrow hips, up to his broad shoulders and down again over his pecs, just barely grazing his nipples, over his flat stomach and finally to his cock. He groaned as her hand wrapped around him for the first time, feeling his length and breadth. He had nothing to be concerned about in the size department he knew. He groaned as she began to pump her hand up and down his cock, running her thumb over the wet slit in the top each time she got to the head. He was almost pulsing he was so hard and so when she bent to lick the bead of precum from the top, she had barely touched him before he cried out.
"Wait! Gina, fuck! As much as I want ya to use yer mouth on me, 'm about to go off like a rocket and God, I need to be inside ya!"
Gina smiled and took her hand off him, leaning her body over him to brush her lips against his "You want to fuck me Daryl?" she whispered teasingly against his lips.
"Christ!" he moaned and quickly squeezed his cock firmly at the base to stop himself from cumming.
Gina grinned at his scowl.
"Don' tease" he said gruffly. "'s been a long time is all" he explained.
Gina giggled "I know, I'm sorry" she whispered and pressed her lips to his again, licking slightly into his mouth.
"Stop woman!" he moaned and before she knew it, he'd gripped her around the waist and flipped her onto her back, his knees parting hers.
She gasped as she felt his cock sliding against her pussy, the firm ridge around the head rubbing at her clitoris, causing her to groan loudly and toss her head back gasping for breath.
Daryl nodded with a smirk "See how you like being teased now huh?" he said, thrusting against her, rubbing her til her hips rose against his every move.
"Ungh! Daryl, please!" she moaned "Feels so good. Want you. Want you inside!"
Daryl groaned and lining himself up against her, thrust carefully, but strongly into her welcoming heat. They moaned together as he bottomed out, as deep as he could be as her legs came up to wrap around his waist. He pulled back and thrust again a little harder, loving her sounds as he then pumped into her over and over. He tasted her wherever he could reach, mesmerised by her body below him, her rounded breasts jiggling with his every thrust, a flush beginning to cover her chest as her need grew. He pulled one of her legs up and held it firmly in place as he watched his cock disappear into her over and over. "Fuck Gina" he groaned "Look at ya!"
She was panting and writhing against him, her sweat mixing with his between their stomachs, the heat only building in the already stifling room. Her whimpers began to increase as she chased a second release and he began to feel his balls draw up tight in answer. He sped up, changing his angle slightly which made her cry out.
He groaned her name before clasping his lips to hers in a deep, filthy kiss to muffle their sounds as first she, then he came powerfully within seconds of each other with loud groans into each other's mouths. They broke the kiss, gasping for breath as Daryl lifted a little way off her, so as not to crush her. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled softly as their breath evened out.
"Christ Gina" he sighed.
"I know!" she replied and leaned up to kiss him again before he rolled off to her side.
"Don't leave" she said, looking at him intently.
Daryl kissed her sweetly on the forehead. "Woman, ya crazy if y' think I could walk right now if I tried!"
Gina giggled and relaxed against Daryl's chest as he pulled her against him, hearing his answering huff of laughter in his chest.
Daryl smiled down at Gina, content as he didn't remember ever being as she curled against him. He didn't let his negative thoughts win as her hot body pressed against his. She wanted him now and hopefully not just as a one off either. And just this once, he was gonna let himself believe that this could be the start of something. That he could have finally found the Michonne to his Rick, Maggie to his Glenn or the Sasha to his Abraham. That it was his turn to have the one woman who would want him back for always. His turn to be happy, if only for a short while.
A/N: So, I hoped you liked this story?! These two are still speaking to me, so I might keep going if anyone's interested? Let me know!